MARDUK Guitarist Says 95 Percent Of Black Metal Is 'Pure Crap'

MARDUK guitarist Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson recently spoke to Live 4 Metal about the group's latest album, "Plague Angel", and the current state of the black metal scene, among other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

Live 4 Metal: Where did you find the new vocalist, Mortuus?

Morgan: "He was singing in another Swedish band that I heard called FUNERAL MIST. I heard this album and I thought he used his voice not as a singer, but as an instrument. He uses his voice like a frustrated, demented powerful voice. When I knew I was going to change vocalists that was the only one I had in mind. I just gave him a call and it was clear he would join the band. He was my #1 choice."

Live 4 Metal: Vocally, he seems much more diverse than Legion [previous singer].

Morgan: "Absolutely. The personality is more macabre and morbid and that suits this band. We are really going to spread it out now for the next album."

Live 4 Metal: Wasn't Emil [Dragutinovic, drums] injured in a fight?

Morgan: "Yeah, he was attacked on his way home from a bar or something. It was at like 3AM and he had his arm broken in two places. It was a real tragedy. We were all fit for fighting like a Panzer division, and then this shit happens. It's tragic but we will wait it out and get back sooner or later. We will go across Europe and then South America and hopefully North America."

Live 4 Metal: Considering the intensity at which he has to have to play drums for MARDUK, is there any estimate at when he might be healed enough for that?

Morgan: "We don't know. We canceled all the tours so we are going to rebook them as soon as he gets the plastic off and we can start rehearsing. In time we will rebook everything and start touring for 'Plague Angel' again. Right now we can do nothing so we are doing some music videos and slowly writing material for the next album."

Live 4 Metal: Legion just did an interview where he made some accusations about you recently. Your thoughts on that?

Morgan: "I don't know and I don't care. If that is how he feels, I have a different point of view, you know? He can say what he wants, I don't even care. I know how I look upon it and I don't care."

Live 4 Metal: Your last U.S. tour in 2002 as support for DANZIG was canceled because you couldn't get into the country.

Morgan: "Yeah, but we did support DANZIG over in Europe and we met him in Los Angeles when we were on tour in 2001. Glenn Danzig is one of those guys that I really respect in the music scene for always doing what he wants to do. He never let anybody fuck with him and always did what he wanted to. I admire him for that, for being a strong person among all the sheep. I will always hold him very high. It has been a great pleasure to get to know him and tour with him. We've already been talking together about touring together in the future, hopefully the States."

Live 4 Metal: Well what are your thoughts on the current state of black metal?

Morgan: "I think that 95% is pure crap. That's how I look upon it. But it's not just black metal, it's death metal or whatever. I really like just a few bands. The music I like is not only death. It's the best of black, the best of death, classical music. People that really live for music, you need to feel that. People ask me how I have the energy to still do this after 15 years. I'm focused, I know what I want to do and that reflects in the music."

Read Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson's entire interview with Live 4 Metal at this location.